Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Lion’s Arranged Marriage Chapter 15

Neil

Shelly looked entirely too full of herself.

With the fiery backdrop of the sun through the trees and every godforsaken shifter creature made by the hands of that bastard doctor surrounding her, she seemed a little too comfortable sitting on top of that dire wolf. Blake took a few hesitant steps forward. Mother.

I growled while stepping in front of my alpha, saying, Don't. It's a trap, Blake.

That's my mother, Neil, he argued. She's stuck. Can't you see she's stuck?

Gwendolyn flapped her wings a few times on my back, sending cool waves along my fur. She hopped to the top of my head and said, Neil is right. It looks like a trap, Alpha. Please, try to think clearly.

But how could anyone think clearly when our alpha's mother was sitting with the enemy on a lab-created creature like she owned the land? Raymond looked smug, too. Every face we faced appeared far more confident than I would have liked.

What I really would have liked was to take my mate home and mark her in other ways, in far more permanent ways. Having her atop my head was wonderful and all, especially when we were about to have a huge battle, but it was hardly preferable. Gwendolyn deserved to be treated like a queen-not that betraying bitch on the other side of the field.

Careful, Neil, Gwendolyn warned through our connection. We don't know the full story yet.

It's not looking particularly good, snow, I replied.

She stamped her little bird foot on my forehead. I know. Be patient.

Easy for you to say, I argued playfully. You're not the one who has to face the fact that your mother has betrayed your entire pack.

I felt the horrific reality of my statement shred through us both. Gwendolyn readjusted, hooted softly, and then flapped her wings a couple of times.

Without speaking or thinking, I already knew what she was feeling. It was wild how much our bond had improved. We could read each other with a quiet clarity that made me realize I never wanted it to be any other way.

Before Gwendolyn, my mind had been my own. I did things my way. I didn't stop unless my alpha commanded. But now that I had her, it was like I had an additional consciousness. She was the bird on my shoulder telling me to mind my manners-quite literally. I loved it. She made me think better, do better, act better.

That was worth defending.

Blake took a few more steps forward. Jermaine and I trotted close to him, guiding him through the field while keeping an eye out for an assault. Our pack remained behind under Veronica's guidance. They were to wait until the alpha stated what he wanted. Raymond waltzed toward us with the two dire wolves on either side of him, Shelly riding the one to his left. Her features were tightly wound, lines deepening around her mouth and eyes in ways I had never noticed.

She'd aged so much. Being the wife of an alpha-especially one who died during his reign-had taken a toll on her. Despite her actions, she had suffered greatly behind the scenes. Blake could likely attest to that. Even now as she rode valiantly forward, shuffling along with the dire wolf's movements, she seemed tired.

How long had she been fighting in the background while we all faced our foe in the foreground?

Blake shifted. I nearly argued against it until my mate swatted my head with her talons. Those tiny claws were like razors on my flesh. Since nothing was happening yet, I sent a grumpy look skyward, aiming it with as much love and affection as I could muster at my

mate.

She settled between my shoulder blades like she owned me.

Which wasn't terribly far from the truth.

Raymond showed off a grand smile. He swung his arm wide, gesturing to the dire wolf on his left. "Aren't family reunions so lovely?"

Blake snorted. "Cut the shit, Raymond. Let my mother go."

My hackles rose. Gwendolyn wiggled against my fur-her way of calming me, I assumed.

"Ah, your mother didn't tell you, did she?" Raymond took a deep breath and sighed it out like he was about to lecture a child about something obvious. "She's the one who released those dire wolves."

Blake glared at his mother. If she regretted a thing, she didn't show it, her face a stone mask carved by her meddling fingers. The dire wolf hosting her rested his belly on the ground, becoming like a giant throne.

"She messed with the footage on your property as well. That took some instruction. She's not exactly smart with technology," Raymond explained. "That's why it was the perfect cover. She could easily play dumb." "The footage," Blake repeated. "You're the one who tampered with it?"

Still no response from Shelly.

Raymond chuckled and swung his sword playfully. He looked like a kid who had just gotten a new toy and wanted to show it off. The fact that he didn't look terribly fierce right now was what made this situation so terrifying. He could crack at any moment. The man was a loose canon who didn't care who got hurt as long as he got what he wanted. And right now, he wanted our pack. For what? I didn't want to find out.

Blake clenched his fists at his sides. Rage billowed from his skin like the sweltering heat from a black tar road. "Answer me, Mother!"

One flinch. That was all Blake got from her.

How irritatingly disappointing.

Raymond wore smugness like billionaires displayed their wealth. "She also did something else-something I didn't discover until much later. And oh, was it a phenomenal discovery."

Every bit of ire from Blake shot at Raymond. Millions of tiny daggers sliced right through the air, energetic assaults that landed in the leader of the Gilbert pack.

Blake squared his shoulders. "And what's that?"

"A child. A leader. A man of quality with good morals."

"Get over yourself, Raymond."

Raymond scoffed. "Me? What about your father? He had the ego of a king, yet he could hardly even keep his own mate in his bed."

Blake glared up at his mother.

A soft whoosh accompanied the sword that Raymond swung casually through the air. He had taken to pacing between his dire wolves, too confident in their strength-and the numbers comprising his army backing him-to protect him.

"Your mother cheated. Plain and simple," Raymond confirmed the discussion we'd had with Blake earlier. "She got rid of the babe. Dr. Myrtle smuggled him right out of the pack." He gestured with the sword. "She gave birth out here in this field somewhere. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

Shelly blinked. It seemed to be the only thing she was capable of doing. Flinching and blinking-those were her responses. Whatever she thought about this situation didn't make an appearance.

It was like she had completely shut down.

"My little recon mission with Dr. Windsor's files revealed her secret birth. Of course, the official story with Nathan was that the baby had died," Raymond went on. "That wasn't the case. He was a healthy wolf. And now..."

Shelly slid to the ground. In a flash of fur and flesh, the dire wolf shifted, turning into a stocky black-haired, blue-eyed man covered in tattoos.

The pack behind us audibly gasped.

I took a step back, alarmed by the familial similarities.

Blake was speechless.

The sword's tip pointed just above my head-at my mate.

Raymond smiled victoriously. "Your little nurse knew too much. I had to make sure she was shaken up properly. My dear stepson needs a mate and she's plenty fit enough."

I growled.

Raymond laughed, the sinister sound cutting me down to my bones. "Have you not claimed her yet? It doesn't matter. As we can tell by Shelly's indiscretion, mate bonds can be broken without death." He squinted at us. "And I'll be sure to break yours. Samuel has earned his stripes and needs a prize."

Samuel, Gwendolyn gasped.

I crouched into an attack position. Samuel glared me down while the other dire wolf prepared to pounce. Like hell was I going to let that warped family take my mate!

I had no idea, Gwendolyn told me. I just heard Samuel's name from Dr. Myrtle. I didn't know he was Shelly's son.

I believe you, snow, I replied.

Blake leveled his gaze at Raymond, his jaw tightening with determination. "Your quarrel is with me. Leave my pack out of it."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, sport," Raymond snapped. "These events have been in motion since before you took over the pack, since before you could walk."

I squinted at Shelly. Her frigid stance and energy told me she had checked out a long time ago. Whatever she felt about Blake hardly rivaled what she was doing now. How could a mother betray her family like that? Her own child? Her very own mate?

We might not survive, Gwendolyn admitted. Neil, I have to tell you something.

Save it for later, darling, I instructed. We have a war to win.

"It's time to end this," Blake announced, and I couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. "No more bloody battles. This is the final fight."

"So sure, aren't we?" Raymond jabbed. "I'll give you the chance to hand your status over to your half-brother. If you do it peacefully enough, I'll even let you live." He smirked over Blake's shoulder. "Well...long enough to see your mate tortured to death."

Veronica barked, inspiring the line of shifters behind us to get worked up. The thunderous crack of their cries through the air encouraged me to roar. Gwendolyn fluttered on my back. Her warning screech was enough to set my blood on fire. Passion, sheer determination, and steel strength sprang forth.

I was ready to fight. And so was she.

"I'll die protecting her-and my pack," Blake stated. "You won't get away with this, Raymond."

Raymond's nostrils flared. The man was pissed. He curled his fingers tightly around the handle of his sword and held it up, the blade lining up with his nose. "That was your last chance, Blake. Are you sure you want to go this route?" "There's no other route to take."

"You could live peacefully under Samuel. You could have nieces and nephews."

Blake sneered. "I don't have a brother."

"Such a shame," Raymond sighed. He glanced at Shelly, who hadn't spared him a glance this entire time. "I suppose you'll say you don't have a mother either."

"Why not?"

Hearing the casualness of my alpha's tone put me on edge. It wasn't often that Blake gave up-but that was exactly how it sounded. He had given up on his mother, on any hope of her returning to his life.

The quickness with which it had been resolved shook me up.

For my alpha had given me many chances to bite Gwendolyn even after I had heatedly resisted. He could have sent me away from the pack each time, yet he chose to quietly give me another chance and then another after that.

That meant his patience with his mother had dissipated.

Part of me wanted to run to my alpha and comfort him. Some darker aspect of my personality-the side I called upon during my hits-urged me to get revenge. Kill the mother. Slaughter the son. Destroy Raymond.

That would certainly stop this war from proceeding.

Yet I knew better than to act without my alpha's approval. It was up to him what he wanted to do next. If he wanted to announce his mother's break from the pack, then I would respectfully hear it.

Until he instructed otherwise, I would simply stand at his side with my mate on my back.

Dire wolves and hybrids slowly advanced. Raymond fixed his crazed gaze on us all, looking in turn at each one of his foes like he was attempting to etch our faces into his mind. While his pack marched forward, he bowed his head, keeping his eyes on us while wielding his sword. "Any last words?" he offered. "Or shall we commence?"

Blake stepped back and shifted into his wolf form. It was only then that his mother bothered doing anything at all other than blinking or flinching. She held her hand over her heart and bowed deeply, exposing more of the approaching line behind her. Samuel didn't seem moved by the gesture, but Blake's energy became a rabid mess.

My alpha was mourning already.

What Raymond didn't realize was that the battle had already commenced. Long before any of us had stepped onto this field.